Caleb Farley will not attend 2021 NFL draft in Cleveland after testing positive for COVID-19

Caleb Farley will not attend the 2021 NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Cleveland, after he tested positive for COVID-19.

The former Virginia Tech cornerback, despite opting out of the 2020 college football season, is expected to be a first-round selection and had been invited to Cleveland for the event. He is asymptomatic and will instead watch the draft from his home in North Carolina.

“I’m OK. I feel great … I’m still in good spirits,” he said in a video posted on social media. “I’m not going to let nothing or nobody ruin this week for me. This is a dream come true.”

In 2019, Farley battled back injuries – a herniated L5 disc, a bulging S1 joint – that he played through during his first-team All-ACC campaign. He recorded four interceptions and 12 pass breakups. But the injuries cost him the final two games of the Hokies’ season, and he then opted out to prepare for the draft. The 6-foot-2 North Carolina native did not participate in Virginia Tech's pro day after undergoing a microdiscectomy. 

MORE: Five NFL draft prospects who could slide out of the first round

Caleb Farley (3) returns an interception for a touchdown against Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Nov. 16, 2019. (Photo: John Bazemore, AP)

Farley redshirted in 2017 while recovering from a torn ACL.

Along with Patrick Surtain II of Alabama, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn and Northwestern's Greg Newsome II, Farley is considered one of the top cornerback in this year’s class.  

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

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